 | The Works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti
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XXIII
TO DANTE ALIGHIERI
Sonnet
He writes to Dante, then in exile at Verona, defying him as no better than himself
Dante Alighieri, if I jest and lie,
You in such lists might run a tilt with me:
I get my dinner, you your supper, free;
And if I bite the fat, you suck the fry;
I shear the cloth and you the teazle ply;
If I've a strut, who's prouder than you are?
If I'm foul-mouthed, you're not particular;
And you're turned Lombard, even if Roman I.
So that, 'fore Heaven! if either of us flings
Much dirt at the other, he must be a fool:
For lack of luck and wit we do these things.
Yet if you want more lessons at my school,
Just say so, and you'll find the next touch stings—
For, Dante, I'm the goad and you're the bull.
| The Works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti
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